Rafa Watch

[Daniel 7]

We're just not used to it. It's weird - in Italy, especially, top managers and players whore themselves around all the top clubs, and no-one bats an eyelid.

This is how I try to look at it - remembering when Serie A was the elite competition, and you saw Baggio play for all of their top sides. It was only Fiorentina who cried about it.

Its difficult, and it is a new thing for the English top division. Tribalism has generally ruled here over the years. Anelka is one of the few exceptions. Gallas maybe (but he's been reviled everywhere)

[CJ]

A Chelsea forum if anyone's interested.

http://forums.cfcnet.co.uk/index.php/forum/7-the-chelsea-forum/

A lot of bollocks but one or two posters don't seem too bad.

whats the modding like there?

[Reece]

whats the modding like there?

Ha, touché

[CJ]

This is how I try to look at it - remembering when Serie A was the elite competition, and you saw Baggio play for all of their top sides. It was only Fiorentina who cried about it.

Its difficult, and it is a new thing for the English top division. Tribalism has generally ruled here over the years. Anelka is one of the few exceptions. Gallas maybe (but he's been reviled everywhere)

i also think if we were winning leagues and CL then someone going to a rival wouldnt be seen as badly as it is now.

[CJ]

Ha, touché

i thought i had to put that.

[Lee]

So just like here then

whats the modding like there?

[Daniel 7]

I agree CJ, seeing Rafa elsewhere reminds you of the H&G asset stripping. Thats why uts hard to take in, because under better circumstances, we'd have won the league with him and would be developing the squad he wanted to with us.

[McDermotX]

weird eh :d

**** !!

[Vermilion]

Eden Hazard's visage is tres annoyant

Benitez seems to thrive on a battle. I liked his quote today when asked by SSN on his need to win over the Chelsea fans, I paraphrase "All fans are the same, they like to have a manager who wins games"

He had to win over a lot of doubters here, although not quite so vociferous. I still remember the "Rafa Beneath-us" phone ins. Thing is, he has some balls (in the Goodfellas sense ) and he won't stop until everything is up to his own high standards.

CFC fans will be won round. Unfortunately, in a way.

This is the thing now, he will be asked certain questions about what he's said, and i'm afraid that his answers will dilute all the nice stuff he said about lfc fans over the years.

Hope not, but in order to win over the Chav fans he'll need to compliment them, tell them all how great they were last game, and how they really helped the cloob and players. .

[Liverpool]

January bids for Carroll and Downing

[malg]

I dont understand all the **** Rafa is getting. FSG and a lot of fans did not want him back,he is a football manager and a big (ish)club has come in for him. Good on him hope he does ok, but not to the cost of LFC.

[Vermilion]

January bids for Carroll and Downing

Oh we wish.

Agger and Suarez, maybe ?

Even if he doesn't come in for any of our players, the press will be full of it regardless, and it's just more unsettling ****e for lfc.

Although i expect Falcao to join them tbh.

[malg]

Hypothetical question - please don't kill me for asking!!

Hands up if yu would swap RB for BR?

Runs and ducks for cover

Yes.

[Dhav]

Yep, that was very encouraging. But for reasons known only to him, he tore it up and started again. Disastrous.

That made up quote is *everywhere* - Guardian, Mail, all the papers. I've checked and checked and found nothing. Nick Harris is going to check something called 'lexux nexis', which is a database open to journos which stores everything ever in all newspapers - national, local etc. He's run similar Google checks to me and has found nothing, yet is staggered so many 'respectable' journos have run with it. It's almost certainly completely made up. Says a lot about how stuff is reported in the modern age.

Lexis Nexis? I think most major law firms also have access to that. I'll see if I can access it

Pretty sure it's made up though. Google it and the only hits it gives are less than 24 hours old.

[elrichio86]

He's only on a short term contract with them. I can't see them giving him much to spend in January.

However, if he does well and they give him a longer contract in the summer, that's when I could envisage him looking at a couple of ours.